Barron’s has unveiled its annual “Top 100 Financial Advisors” feature, with the new #1 being Gregory Vaughan of Morgan Stanley in Menlo Park, California — and the theme of the article being how these advisors are rethinking their approaches given the recent market meltdown. The top advisors “are giving diversification a thorough rethinking,” Barron’s Suzanne McGee writes. “It’s not as simple as owning a bunch of different investments. For example, there’s ‘tactical diversification,’ or moving swiftly to take advantage of price moves in particular markets.”

This video offers a good summary of what Barron’s found was on the mind of these advisors, and this link provides more detailed commentary from five advisors in particular. As you read or listen to their comments, you might want to keep these two quotes below in mind:

• “The four most dangerous words in investing are, ‘This time it’s different.’” — John Templeton
• “The underlying principles of sound investment should not alter from decade to decade, but the application of these principles must be adapted to significant changes in the financial mechanisms and climate.” — Benjamin Graham